Randall Shayne Edge (born August 21, 1971) is an American former college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a punter in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) during the 1990s. Edge played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and thereafter, he played professionally for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Edge was born in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Shayne Edge
Retrieved August 28, 2011. He attended

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

in Lake City,databaseFootball.com, Players
Shayne Edge
. Retrieved August 28, 2011. and played high school football for the Columbia Tigers.

College career

Edge accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

team from

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 179 (2011). Retrieved August 27, 2011. In four seasons as the Gators' starting punter, he averaged 42.5 yards per kick, which remains the fifth-highest all-time career average by a Gators punter. Edge was recognized as a second-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) selection in 1993 and 1994, and was an honorable mention All-American in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994. During his time as a Gator, he was a member of the first three officially recognized SEC championship teams. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in 2000.

Professional career

Edge started his career with the World League's Barcelona Dragons for the 1995–96 season and averaged 40.1 yards per punt. In the summer of 1996, Edge was invited to attend Steelers training game, where he and veteran

Rohn Stark Rohn Taylor Stark (born May 4, 1959, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States), who grew up in Fifty Lakes, Minnesota, is a former American football punter who played 16 seasons in the National Football League, 13 of those with the Baltimore / Indi ...

would compete for the starting job. Edge was cut prior to the final preseason game and was replaced by former Steelers punter Josh Miller. Miller was placed on the injured reserve due to a

sports hernia Athletic pubalgia, also called sports hernia, core injury, hockey hernia, hockey groin, Gilmore's groin, or groin disruption is a medical condition of the pubic joint affecting athletes. It is a syndrome characterized by chronic groin pain in a ...

that occurred during a week four game vs the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. Miller's recovery was listed as being 2–4 weeks, and Edge was signed by the Steelers on September 25, 1996. In Edge's first game with the Steelers, Edge was one of several Steelers players involved in an

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

fight with several

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

players. The fight eventually drifted from the end zone near a group of spectators. Edge was fined $5,000 and was the only Steelers player ejected from the game. Once his Player's Association dues and fines were paid, Edge barely broke even from his first game check. When asked about his first game, Edge said "I worked for free. There was nothing left." Edge was waived by the Steelers on October 26, 1996. In four games with the Steelers, Edge averaged 39.7 yards per punt. Edge attended training camp with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

during the 1997 NFL season, but was waived on August 18, 1997. Edge was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

on June 23, 1998, but was waived from the team prior to the completion of training camp on August 25, 1998.ProSportsTransactions.com: Shayne Edge Transactions History
/ref> The following season, the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

signed Edge to a two-year contract on March 18, 1999, but was waived by the team on August 28, 1999. In 2006, Edge was named to the Florida Gators 100th Anniversary team, with voting decided by fans voting via internet and by mail-in ballots.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Edge, Shayne 1971 births Living people American football punters Florida Gators football players People from Lake City, Florida Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Florida

Early years

College career

Professional career

See also

References

Bibliography